PAC questions Rs101.4m of secret spending by information ministry

Audit report questions a payment of more than Rs50m made to a private advertising company by PPP

ISLAMABAD:

A sub-committee of the Public Accounts Committee of Pakistan, on Tuesday, raised serious questions about undisclosed expenditures by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, highlighting Rs101.4million in secret funds.

The committee noted that Rs70million had been spent under a special publicity fund, Rs26.6million allocated to the Institute of Regional Studies, and a further Rs4.8 million spent on secret service expenditures. Audit officials said payment vouchers and bank records had not been provided.

The ministry failed to provide records of the expenditures, prompting the audit report to note “serious questions” over the use of these funds. It also criticised the ministry for keeping the secret funds outside the audit process, calling it “unconstitutional”.

Committee member Bilal Mandokhail expressed frustration, “There is no record of anything. How is that possible?”

The sub-committee decided to issue a notice to the retired secretary of information and request a formal response. Members also reminded officials of the constitutional directive that the Auditor General must have access to all government records.

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Officials emphasised that, according to the law, officers are legally obliged to provide complete records for audit. The committee warned that action would be taken against officials obstructing the audit process and stressed that secret funds could only be classified under the law.

The audit report also raised questions about a payment of more than Rs50million made to a private advertising company for a campaign in the name of Benazir Bhutto, benefiting the Pakistan Peoples Party.

Commenting on the payment, Mandokhail asked, “Did the song even become a hit? Was it actually played?”

The information secretary admitted the ministry had no details, prompting the committee to direct officials to provide full information.